Karyn Kane and the Hammer of Thor
by Captain T'karra Nirois
Summary: Karyn Kane has always been a bridge between two worlds, being a daughter of Athena and an Egyptian magician. But when a fire giant proves to be too much for her, she will be plunged into an entirely new world full of new friends - and new enemies. With the help of her new hallmates and old friends, she will fight to the finish and unearth secrets that should have stayed buried.
1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note-**  
 **Hi! This is obviously my first fanfic and I'm really excited. Also, hi, Gene-ius. (Can't remember your account name, sorry.) Don't forget to read those books and shank someone with the candy cane! Also, hi, Abigail. So anyway. This story takes place the February after all the other Rick Riordan series and is actually a 3-way crossover. I will probably post between once every 3 days to once a week. So, here we go!**

 _The following is transcribed from a notebook found on a plane to Hawaii. The contents are intriguing, if a little unexpected, and according to the author, the story of their adventures must be shared with the world, or at least the part that can be trusted. I must transcribe this story. If you betray my trust, you will be transformed into a pineapple with a face. Not kidding._

 **Chapter 1 - I Get a Free Head Blowtorching**  
Can you keep a secret? I know a few people who can. A few hundred - maybe a thousand - people know a third of my secret, one piece of the puzzle. Maybe fifteen of those people know two pieces, and only two people alive know all of it. So, can you keep my secret? Will two become three? If not, just put this notebook back wherever you found it and forget you ever heard of me. Just get on with your life.

...  
... And you're still here. Good. So I suppose I should get on with it, then. My name is Karyn Kane. I know that when read my name, you immediately think, is she related to the "famous" Kanes, Carter and Sadie? The answer is yes. They're my second cousins. Did I use that word right? My dad is their dad's cousin, so... Well, I should probably explain a little about my family to explain why I look like I do and why I do what I do. My dad is Daniel Kane and my grandfather was Carter and Sadie's grandfather's brother. My grandmother was Irish. My mum is Athena. You know, Greek goddess of wisdom and war. So, I have shoulder length hair the color of dark chocolate and skin the color of cinnamon rubbed on a brown paper bag. My eyes are hazel, unusual for one of Athena's children. I'm tallish, at 1.9 meters (that's roughly 5'8" for Americans) and thin, which makes me look even taller. I prefer "lithe," though, it makes me sound like a cat. Like a cat, I'm more muscular than I look, due to ten years of Kung Fu and climbing the climbing wall at Camp Half-Blood. I once scaled a thirty-foot statue to retrieve a Frisbee. But enough about what I look like.  
I live in the 28th nome in Dublin with my dad and little brother, Caleb, hanging out there during the school year and going to Camp Half-Blood in the summer. I've always known about the Egyptian stuff, as long as I can remember. I went to boarding school and trained whenever I was at home. But that all ended when I turned twelve. Monsters started to show up, even more than usual. My boarding school burned down, and finally my dad told me about my mum. I got home schooled from then on - learning how to summon a combat avatar, doing pre-algebra, playing the saxophone, and working on my purple belt in kung fu could be pretty exhausting. I started going to camp the following summer. It turned out to be terrible timing - I believe my half sister Annabeth and her idiotic boyfriend have already told you all about that. Thalia's tree had been poisoned, and monsters were attacking the camp. From my years of combat training I was excellent at killing them, so Clarisse gave me my own shift at defending camp and I didn't disappoint. At the end of the summer, Artemis showed up and offered me a spot in the Hunters of Artemis, but I turned it down. I just couldn't imagine never seeing Caleb or my dad again. But then Artemis and Athena offered me a deal. I was a very powerful demigod and the Hunters of Artemis were getting overwhelmed. So, I was offered a job. I have to kill ten or more monsters a week. I get 20 US dollars and 2 drachmas for the first ten monsters I kill and $50 and 5 drachmas for every monster after that. So, life was good. The timing was also good. The very next winter, the Great Stirring started. So, I killed monsters for four years, through the Titan war and the Giant war and the Set apocalypse and the Apophis apocalypse and everything in between. But it turned out that I was a little too good at my job. The monsters were getting scared of me. They wouldn't come to me anymore. So, I had to come to them.

The day my life changed forever (again) was Friday the 8th of February. I was 16 and a half. I happened to be in Boston that day. It was around sixish, and I was heading home after a long hard day of stomping monsters under my black furry Uggs. And, in case you're wondering, I didn't get there on a plane. I have a couple of magical abilities besides the whole casting spells thing. I can open portals sometimes, without artifacts and many times a day. It's not that hard. Also, I can "smell" the monsters the way they smell me, though it's not really smell so much as a kind of radar telling me where to go. That time, all I needed to do was walk down the street and look classy - simple for me. I wore the aforementioned black furry Uggs, dark jeans, a cream-colored wool trench coat, a purple turtleneck sweater, and a sparkly lavender knit cap - a usual winter outfit for me. I also carried my favorite black leather laptop bag over my shoulder. It wasn't just any crappy bag from Target, though. As a special magical research project, I'd linked the bag to my storage space in the Duat. Basically, I can put almost anything inside. I reached into my bag and flicked through my collection of blades. I chose one of my favorites, an Egyptian khopesh made out of celestial bronze. It was tried and true, but I couldn't use it in front of anyone who didn't know about both sides of my family. Then, I ducked into an alley.  
Bad news - the monster was a caucus. (By the way, in case you're confused, a caucus is a fire breathing giant, named after the giant Caucus, nemesis of Hermes. I hope this clears things up.) So, I was facing a fire breathing giant with a toothpick of a sword and little to no magical reserves. Also, Bast wasn't coming, probably because I could burn up if I tried too much magic. I sometimes host Bast, by the way. I've always loved cat, so much that Sadie used to call me Catgirl and sometimes Muffin. I'm still not sure why. I held up my sword and shouted, "Hey!"  
I forgot that caucuses tend to blaze first and ask questions later. A stream of fire blasted out of the giant's mouth and nearly decapitated me. I ducked just in time. I looked down and saw - and felt - my sword melt in my hand. I swore in Greek and dropped the smoking hilt. It was time for Plan B. I tried to summon a combat avatar, but it dropped me onto my butt. I knew better than to try again, as my fingers were tingling in a dangerous way. Okay, it was time for Plan C. I pulled a glass jar of Greek fire out of my bag and got ready to throw it.  
"Eat this!" I yelled, and tossed the jar down the giant's throat. It coughed, then its stomach glowed green and it fell, trickling a sticky mixture of flaming orange blood and yellow dust from its mouth. _Weird_ , I thought. _Monsters usually just dissolve. This one obviously wasn't quite dead yet. No problem, it would be dead soon._ I tried to summon a portal, but all that happened was the tingling in my fingers got worse. I would have to rest and maybe drink a little nectar before I could leave. A cinnamon hot chocolate with extra whipped cream wouldn't hurt either. As I turned to find the nearest Starbucks, I caught a glimpse of my reflection in a nearby shop window. My hair - what was left of it - was burned to a crisp. Bits of lavender yarn still smoked, tangled in my blackened waves. That was a shame - it had been my favorite cap, made from silk scavenged from Arachne's lair. It was sword proof and bulletproof, but unfortunately not fireproof. My face was scorched and covered in ash. Worst of all, the top of my skull was gone, and bits of my burnt brain pulsed gently, covering itself in blood. Obviously, I hadn't ducked as well as I thought I had. The edges of my vision blurred and darkened.  
"So this is what dying feels like," I muttered. I fell to my knees. A flash of green whirled before me dizzyingly. I fell to my knees, which hurt. A lot. Just before I passed out altogether, I managed to have one final thought: _Bast, help me!_ Then I died. The end.  
 **A/N**  
 **Well, what do you think? Not bad for my first time, right? Please review! I will be really grateful and may write faster if you do. Well, live long and prosper everybody! Nirois out.**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N**  
 **Hi! Thank you for continuing to read my story. Sorry for the late update. I got this awesome new holodeck program and Commander Yarborough refused to take an extra shift so I could use it, so it cut into my writing time. Then Q wouldn't send this chapter back in time, so I cut his head off. Then he got all mad and changed the gravitational constant of the universe and stuck the Nemesis in a time warp so I would be sucked into a black hole over and over. When we escaped three weeks had passed. Also please excuse my sleep-deprivedness. I stayed up all night two nights in a row to finish this chapter (slight exaggeration, but not by much). Anyway, I'm also working on cover art. So here is chapter 2! Enjoy!**  
 **(Btw, is there, like, a disclaimer or something I'm supposed to do? Because if so I own the plot and ocs and ideas and stuff but nothing else. That's all Rick Riordan's.)**

 **Edit note- sorry for the error, was trying to post from a kindle.**  
Chapter 2: Welcome to the Hotel Hell (or Valhalla, Whatever)  
I woke up in a small grassy courtyard. That puzzled me, because if this was the Greek afterlife, I would be at DOA recording studios, waiting for Charon to give me a lift. I always kept a few drachmas in my pocket for that reason. But if this was the Egyptian afterlife, I would be in some waiting room in Osiris's palace. Both choices were indoors. But this wasn't. So where was I? I scowled for a few seconds, then a thought struck me. Maybe I was still alive. If so, it was time to get going. I stood up, shouldered my bag, and pulled out my favorite favorite swords. They were a katana and a tonto, the two swords carried by samurai, made for me by a Japanese son of Hephestus and swordsmith I'd rescued from a scolopendra. Mine were called Asahi no ken and Yuhi no ken, sword of the rising sun and sword of the setting sun. I did an automatic check for supplies and was surprised to find that my clothes were clean and free of ash, and even smelled like the vanilla scented soap I always keep in my drawer at home. Even my skull was back in place and my hair was fresh, clean, and un-charred. Best of all, I was still wearing my spiders-silk bodysuit and socks. Okay, so I still had all my stuff. Now how to escape? The courtyard was small, full of fresh green grass even in the middle of the winter, with one rather odd-looking birch tree and tall marble walls, maybe twelve feet tall. No challenge for me. There was also a pair of large, ornately carved doors, which I had no desire to go through. In fact, they seemed to repell me like a demigod magnet. I quickly scaled the wall. At the top, I saw a city that might have been Boston. I decided that anywhere was better than here and lunged forward. A massive shock blew me off the wall. I barely managed to grab a small bronze plaque on the wall, but by that time my feet were touching the ground. I examined the plaque. It said, Welcome to the Grove of Glasir. No soliciting. No loitering. Hotel deliveries: Please use the Nilfheim entrance. Weird, I thought. What's a Nilfheim? I considered making another go at the wall, but then the doors opened. "Welcome to the Hotel Valhalla," said the guy who opened the doors. He was a short guy with a green uniform and a beard that reminded me of a large hedgehog. "May I take your bag?" I dazedly handed him my laptop bag and stumbled through the doors. "Real leather," he said. "Nice. You know, not that many people bring luggage anymore. Everyone always wants to be buried, or cremated and put in a jar. No one has a good old-fashioned pyre anymore." A pyre… That reminded me. I was dead. My siblings were probably burning my shroud, if not my whole body. I'd told my brother and dad that I wanted to be burned with my bag and whatever clothes I was wearing when I died. I wrote a will too. I didn't think I'd ever need it, though. It had been so simple - I would keep killing monsters as long as I could, then the gods would make me immortal. Then I'd keep killing monsters until the end of time, because of… I almost fell down. There was one reason that I was happy to be dead, and hoped I would go to the Greek afterlife. But now I was stuck in the Hotel Hell, and I would never see her again. The bellhop led me to the front desk, staffed by a guy with equally imposing facial hair. "New guest?" he asked. I shrugged. "I guess." A small bell on the desk rang. "Well, it looks like you're not the only one," said the desk guy. "Here's your key." He handed me a small stone cube with a green symbol carved into it. It looked kind of like this: . "I'll have one of the other guests show you to your room." He hit a few keys on his computer. "Ah, floor 19. Magnus!" One of the guys toasting marshmallows over the huge fireplace stood and came over. He looked to be about my age, maybe a little younger. He was a little taller than me and had dirty blond hair and gray eyes. He wore a hunting jacket over a green t-shirt, baggy jeans, and worn sneakers. He reminded me of someone I knew, but I couldn't remember who. "Magnus, this is Karyn Kane, your new hallmate," announced the desk guy. "Karyn, Magnus Chase." Chase- I knew that name. But how? Magnus shook me out of my contemplation. "Come on," he said, pulling a stray marshmallow out of his hair. "I'll show you to your room."

The hallway reminded me of a hunting lodge mixed with my family's house with Camp Half-blood dumped in for good measure. Spears lined the rafters, and heavily armed waitresses brought everyone drinks. At the moment, everyone seemed to be engaged in a massive battle. The air was full of projectiles: arrows, spears, swords, blow darts, food of all kinds, small animals, various appliances, and for some reason, poker chips. "So, um, Magnus," I said, dodging a flying burrito. "Where is this place? And what am I doing here?" "Hotel Valhalla," he replied, shoving aside two people in combat fatigues and a guy in a powdered wig. "You're dead." I rolled my eyes. "I gathered that. But seriously, I thought I was going to E-somewhere else. Why am I here?" He laughed. "You're just lucky, I guess. Trust me, there are a lot worse places to spend your afterlife." His bitter tone convinced me not to ask. But then I noticed something about his expression, his eyes, his tone- and bam, it all clicked. "Are you related to a girl named Annabeth? 'Cause you look kind of the same and-" "You know Annabeth?" he interrupted. "She's my cousin. How do you know her?" Before I could answer, his eyes widened. "You're one of them, aren't you?" I gulped nervously. One of them could mean a lot of things, some good and some likely to get me a lot worse than a burrito to the face. "One of what?" "You know what I mean." That clarified absolutely nothing. He grabbed my hand and dragged me to the elevators. I felt a pang of sadness as I remembered someone else who used to drag me everywhere, who I thought I'd meet again someday but now I never would. "Come on! We can't talk here, someone might hear us. Did Sam bring you here? If she did I'm going to kill her." In the elevator, I half listened to Magnus's rants about what he was going to do to "Sam" (A long list starting with launching her into something called a "Gingungap" and ending with feeding her to something called the Fenris Wolf. In a mixture of an unknown language, English, and sign language, but I got the gist.) and the easy listening music in a language that wasn't any of the five I knew (English, French, Latin, Ancient Greek, and Ancient Egyptian, in case you're curious) while pondering a fewof death's essential questions: Who was Sam? Why wasn't I in Elysium or Aaru? What kind of trouble had I gotten myself into now? And when could I get one of those burritos, I was still starving? "He said we were hall mates, right?" said Magnus. I nodded, and he pushed button 19 out of the second most buttons I'd ever seen in one place. (When you visit the Empire state building to go to Olympus, the key card you get makes an extra 498(I think) buttons pop out of the wall. It's really cool to watch, even though all but the 600 one don't work.) In a surprisingly short amount of time, the doors opened and we stepped into a huge hallway. It was big enough to play basketball in and had more spears as rafters: that same hunting-lodge-meets-luxury-hotel feel. My boots sank into the lush carpet. "That one's yours", said Magnus, pointing to a large wooden door crisscrossed with iron bars and faintly glowing runes. There was a round plaque with my name on it. They'd even spelled it right. My last doubts were destroyed: I was supposed to be there, though I didn't know why. "So how do I…" I trailed off, pulling the small stone cube out of my pocket. "Just stick it in the matching slot in the door," he said. I inspected the plaque. Just below my name was a groove shaped like the symbol on the cube. I slotted the ridge on the stone into the groove and heard a satisfying click! The stone glowed green. My door swung open.

Even though I'd just nicknamed this place Hotel Hell, my room was closer to Elysium. The room was 2 stories tall, with all the furniture built into, or bolted to, the walls and sometimes stuck on small platforms connected with rope ladders, pulleys, slides, and zip lines. The floors were wood the color of honey with strategically placed soft white rugs. The walls were murals of my favorite outdoor places: a mountaintop, a beach, a forest. One alcove in the middle of the wall was a desk full of art supplies. One was a small library with all my favorite books and lots of comfortable chairs upholstered in silky fabric patterened in swirls of emerald green, peacock blue, and royal purple. In fact, everything fabric was that pattern. There was a martial arts dojo. An armory. A walk-in closet. A bathroom. A kitchenette stocked with donuts, chocolate truffles, green apple gatorade. and grilled cheese sandwiches with bacon and olives (a Camp Half-blood staple, sooo good). I didn't know what to do first. Unfortunately, I had company. "Nice," said Magnus, gazing up at the network of rope criscrossing the space. "Not as awesome as my room, but still really nice." "Okay," I said warily. "You showed me my room. Now leave me alone." "Not so fast," Magnus said, crossing his arms. "First tell me exactly how you know my cousin." I narrowed my eyes. "I don't think so. I believe that you've overstayed your welcome. Heh-sieh!" A glowing purple hieroglyph formed in the air and began to shove Magnus our the door. He quickly pulled a pendant off his neck and tossed it into the air. It turned into a sword and flew through the air, slashing through my hieroglyph, which pulsed once, then exploded. The force temporarily blinded me and threw both of us onto our butts. As soon as I could see again, I locked eyes with Magnus and we both said, "What the heck was that?" Well, he said, "What the helheim was that," but close enough. "I'll explain first," I said, struggling to my feet. "Let me just… oh gods." I fell back down. Black spots swam in front of my vision. Magnus somehow managed to stand and gave me a hand up. Or tried to, because as soon as our hands touched, I saw another flash of blinding light, and I felt my power levels go back to normal, then above normal. It was… well, magical. I held up my hand and everything seemed to be normal except that I was glowing purple and there were a few stray white sparks on my fingertips. As I watched, they rolled down my fingers and dissolved into my palm. Magnus was glowing too, only he was glowing gold and the extra magical energy was being siphoned into his pendant, which also glowed slightly. Soon all the glow was gone. He looked at his hands, then back at me. "That was weird," he said. "Normally when I use Jack I get exhausted afterward, but this time-" "You had magic to spare?" He smiled. "Exactly." "Same here, actually. So you wanted me to explain everything. There are some comfy chairs up there, and I'll grab some snacks." Magnus looked aprehensively at the rope ladder. I grinned mischievously. "Forget the rope ladder. I've still got some magic to burn." I twirled my index finger and a small platform that looked like it was made from purple glass materialized beneath us. We floated up to the library alcove, then the platform dissolved as we landed. We sat on a couple of those chairs that are a cross between beanbag chairs and wicker baskets, and I summoned a couple of chocolate bars. "I know Annabeth because we're related," I said. "I'm her half sister. We have the same mum. She told you about the Greeks, right?" Magnus managed to pry his jaw off the floor and nodded. "But she didn't tell you about the Egyptians." We gave each each other a quick, but still too long to write down here, rundown. I told him about our gods, afterlife, and powers. He told me about the hotel, the nine worlds, (The world is like a tree with nine parts, or something like that) the gods, his adventures, and Jack the sword. We also traded insults (Paddy o' stupid, Chum Bucket, Leprechaun Girl, and Lobster Boy, among others) ate way too much candy, and had the most fun I'd had since Caleb and I challenged the Ares cabin to a chariot race. We were mostly done when I heard a knock on the door. "W'peh," I said, and the door swung open with a click. A girl peeked in. She was about my age, and looked enough like me to be my sister, though she looked more Arabic than African- Irish and her eyes were brown. "Karyn Kane?" she called, looking around. "Up here," I said, waving. She blushed. "Oh, hi, Karyn," she said, waving back. "Magnus, what are you doing up there? You guys are going to be late for dinner." "Sorry, Sam, Magnus said. He turned back to me. "So Sam did bring you here! Why didn't you say something?" he hissed. I shrugged. "I don't really remember anyone bringing me here. Just dying, and passing out." I jumped off the platform, flipped in midair, and came up in a standing position. "Top that!" I called to Magnus. He grinned and jumped. Amazingly, he managed to do two flips and spin so that he landed on his hands, then did a front handspring and stood next to me. "Einherji are gifted with strength, speed, and general athletic ability." he said. I frowned, irritated from having been shown up. "If you're done showing off," said Sam. "It's time for dinner."

 **So what do you think? Magnus x Karyn? Leave a review! Also special thanks to Pixel Zodiac and Twilight's Hunte for reviewing. Nirois out.**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N**

 **Yeah, sorry about taking so long again. There was the band trip, then marching fundamentals, and finals and stuff, not to mention my duties aboard ship. But I'm back, finally. Oh yeah- thanks to Guest (whoever you are), secretsofthepage, LunaEtSidera, and Guardian of Light Lightus for reviewing. Please, other people, review, even if you just say you hate it. It lets me know that there are still people reading this. Also, sorry about forgetting to check this note before. (feels stupid) Now, on with the story!**

Chapter 3- I eat a delicious dinner to the death

The three of us (Magnus, Sam, and I) stepped back into the elevator. More Nordic Muzak played.

"So, what's for dinner?" I asked Sam, trying to start a conversation.

"Whatever you want," she absently responded. I frowned.

"How does that work?"

"Magic," she said. "Just like everything else around here."

"And what're you doing here? You're not dead." Sam shook her head.

"No, I'm not. I'm a Valkyrie, a warrior girl in the service of Odin who brings heroic souls to the hotel."

"Like an army of girl Hermeses **(A/N Hermii? Hermeesen?)** with axes," I mused. Sam's eyes widened, Magnus stomped on my foot and gave me a _shouldn't-have-mentioned-that_ glare, and I realized a second too late that I had been speaking aloud. Luckily, Sam must not have caught my slipup.

"How do you know that all Valkyries carry axes?" I shrugged nervously.

"A really good guess?" Come to mention it, how did I know? I'd simply seen her axe and remembered something, like a book I'd once read, or-

"A dream," I blurted out. "I had a dream about a group of girls with axes and armor flying through the air." As more of the dream came back to me, I described it. "You- both of you- were there. The flying girls were chasing you, in a park, I think. There were… ducks. Something to do with ducks." Sam and Magnus exchanged a glance, one of those looks that's almost like a silent conversation, or argument in this case. Reading faces is something I've always been good at, so I could tell that they were arguing over whether or not to trust me. Finally, Magnus made a final point in my favor and Sam nodded grudgingly.

"It sounds like you saw a piece of our adventure last month," said Magnus. "The only person who has dreams about the past is Emma. You should talk to her after dinner." I winced. Not Emma. Please not now.

"Are you okay?" said Sam.

"Yeah," I said shakily. "It's just… I used to have a friend named Emma. She died." Magnus's face fell.

"Oh. Sorry if I sound insensitive, but… How?" Oh, if only they knew… Magnus would understand, but Sam's mind would be blown.

"A-a fire. I really don't like to talk about it."

"Yeah, I get it. My mom died in a fire." Sam frowned, and the elevator dinged open.

"On that happy note, let's go to dinner."

The dining hall was nice, though the tree animals were kind of annoying. The place was built like an ancient Greek amphitheater, or a football stadium. Where the actors or the field would be was a large tree, maybe 300-400 feet tall, with a small pool of water at the roots. There was a fire pit next to the pool. The tree was full of animals- a deer, a goat, squirrels, possums, sugar gliders, sloths, and a random wombat. We sat down at one of the tables about halfway between the nosebleed seats and the tree. A random Valkyrie swooped down, set three plates and three goblets down in front of us, then flew away. I had a loaded bacon cheeseburger with French fries.

"What is this stuff?" I said, sloshing the questionable liquid in my goblet.

"Mead," said Magnus, his mouth full of falafel. "It comes from the goat up there." Okay. I wasn't so sure about magic mead, especially since it was probably alcoholic. But the stuff in my goblet looked more like apple cider, though I wondered why opaque, white goat milk had turned into translucent, yellowy-orange mead. I took a cautious sip. It tasted like white chocolate hot chocolate, mostly, but with hints of cinnamon, vanilla, and something fruity I couldn't identify. I took another bite of hamburger, then I felt the aftertaste of the mead. It wasn't a taste, exactly - more of a feeling. It was like a mix of nectar and coffee, without the jitteriness. I took another sip.

"Interesting," I said, eating more of the hamburger.

"If I were you, I'd eat quickly. This is your first day, so the thanes will probably judge you soon."

"What are thanes, and why are they judging me? I don't much like being judged." Magnus pointed at a table next to the fire pit.

"See the fancy dudes down there? They're thanes, the lords of Valhalla. They'll judge you because it's your job."

"Mmmm… so when is that happening?" A row of holographic screens wrapped around the tree trunk, displaying a futuristic-looking looking logo: _**Valkyrie Vision.**_

"Right about now," said Magnus. One of the thanes stood.

"Warriors!" he said. It was hard to tell from that far away, but it looked a lot like the same guy who had been manning the front desk earlier. Absently, I wondered who was taking over for him. A ridiculous image of a sloth passing out room keys and offering free room service popped into my mind, and I shook my head to clear it. Stupid ADHD.

"Three fallen heroes have made it to Valhalla today! We will view their deaths and celebrate their worthy accomplishments, and decide if they are worthy for their place in the armies of Odin!" The other warriors cheered and banged their goblets on the tables and their swords on their shields.

"Jessica Lewis!" he called. A girl at the table next to mine and her Valkyrie stood. The girl- Jessica- was short and thin, with short, dark hair, blue eyes, and a tan.

"Impress us with your courage!" The screens flickered, and a choppy video appeared, like something taken by a GoPro. I guessed that it was taken from a camera on a Valkyrie's shoulder. It showed Jessica, paddle boarding across a turquoise ocean. Suddenly, another person scrambled onto her board. They- she- was bleeding from her leg, and a fin was circling Jessica's board. Jessica decided to beat at the fin with her paddle. It worked, until the shark decided to simply swallow her in two bites. It was pretty messy, and Jessica sobbed as she watched. The person grabbed Jessica's paddle and moved away. Jessica's glowing golden soul floated to the surface of the water. The camera swooped forward as the Valkyrie took Jessica's hand, and the video cut out. Instant applause. More shield and goblet banging. The thanes debated for a few minutes over whether or not a paddle was a weapon, but eventually they decided in Jessica's favor.

"Jessica Lewis, do you know your parentage?" said desk manager thane. "Yes," she said.

"Let the vala be summoned!" the desk guy said. The vala appeared, an old lady that reminded me of our old oracle mummy. She rattled a small handful of stones like dice in a cup, and shook out a single stone into her hand. She peered at it closely, then said,

"You may be an ordinary mortal, but you will bravely defend the gates of Asgard, and probably be disemboweled in the process!" The crowd cheered, and jessica made her way back to her table, looking nauseous. "Karyn Kane!" I stood with Sam, and the screens played a video of me fighting the caucus. A first, I worried about my sword, but the Mist had edited it into a baseball bat. I watched it burn in my hand, and throw a baseball straight down its throat. It died, then I collapsed. My soul drifted out of my body. Sam grabbed it, then the video cut out. More applause, more banging.

"Karyn Kane, do you know your parentage?" Now _there_ was a tricky question.

"Um… sort of?" The thane smiled.

"Let the vala be summoned, again!" I waited for a few minutes, but no one showed up. Then the pool at the roots of the giant tree began to bubble. One of the largest bubbles popped, and three women draped in white came out, walking on water. As they came closer, I realized that they were actually about nine feet tall.

"Magnus?" I whispered. "Who are the creepy ladies?" Magnus was ashen-faced.

"The Norns," he said. "That's crazy, the last time they showed up-"

"The last time they showed up was just before we went on our quest last month. But why are they here for you?" said Sam. _Karyn Kane_ , said one of the Norns. I couldn't tell which, as none of their mouths had moved. _Great-granddaughter of Heimdall. Wielder of the sword of clouds._ The center Norn tilted her head curiously. _Your prophecy cannot be told by us. Seek the oracle in Athens._ The Norns disappeared in a puff of smoke with a faint scent of magnolia blossoms.

"What the heck was that?" I said, sitting down.

"I'm not sure. I'm guessing that we have another quest."

"Hold on, _we_?" Magnus looked incredulous.

"Of course! I can't just let you kill yourself on your first quest." Magnus lowered his voice. "Besides, Annabeth would kill me if I let her sister go off by herself." I didn't remember much else about that night, just leaving the dining hall, the elevator, stumbling into my room. The last thing I remember was Magnus saying,

"Meet me in lounge nineteen for breakfast. Don't forget to bring your sword. Then we can talk about this quest."

I got up in the morning feeling like I'd just been raised from the dead. Oh, wait, I had. I almost just rolled out of bed, but I realized where I was and came across the walkway between my bed and the bathroom. I took a long, leisurely shower, wrapped myself in a towel and hooked myself onto the bungee cord hanging next to the walkway. I rode down to the next level, a closet, and noticed that all the spare clothes from my bag had been hung up there, along with three green t-shirts and three pairs of jeans, all my size (I checked). An idea tickled my brain- orange shirts for Camp Half-Blood, purple shirts for Camp Jupiter, green shirts for Hotel Valhalla, white robes for the 21st Nome. I decided on a black silk-screened tank top with purple and silver flowers down the side, black skinny jeans, and a pair of one-of-a-kind vintage purple converse with silver and black stars on them (Don't worry, I put a protection spell on them, and they're now stain proof, monster proof, and pretty much indestructible). I rode back down to the ground floor and opened the door to my room, and ran into another person.

"Emma?" I whispered. It did look like Emma, with short blond-streaked hair, blue gray eyes, and a pepper shakers' worth of freckles. She even wore a usual Emma outfit: a leather jacket, a white tank top, gray denim skinny jeans, and combat boots with skull patterned laces. She smiled.

"Hey, Karrie." I stumbled into her arms, and I remembered the last three years, from my arrival at Camp Half-Blood to Emma's selfless death.

Emma had been the first person who met me when I showed up at camp. We stayed in the Hermes cabin together until I was claimed, in front of the entire camp at the campfire. She was claimed when we were hunting monsters together in the woods. We've been best friends, right until the last day. Right at the end of the Giant War, a random monster threw a vial of Greek fire at me. Emma pushed me out of the way and the vial broke against her chest. She turned to me and smiled, her teeth glowing white against the green of the flames. Then there was nothing left but ashes. Chiron let me burn her shroud, a black silk sheet. My soul felt like nothing but dust. That's why I took on the job of hunting monsters- so this would never happen again.

"Emmy, what are you doing here?" I said, pulling back from the hug.

"Looking for you, duh! Grab your sword, you'll need it after breakfast. I'll give you more information later." She grabbed my hand and dragged me down the hallway. I really missed being dragged by her, it was kind of an inside joke between us. I almost died several times on the way to the elevator, but at least I had my best friend with me.

"Emma!" said one of my 'hallmates', a girl with curly red hair and green eyes. "You're finally out of your room! Maybe you'll stop fading now. And who's the newbie?"

"This is Karyn," said Emma. "Karyn, this is Mallory Keen." I shook Mallory's hand.

"Nice to meet you." Mallory's eyes sparkled, but in more of a bloodlusting way than a happy way.

"Another daughter of Ireland? Excellent! Maybe you won't be as pathetic as Beantown here. On _his_ first day-"

"Yeah, you probably shouldn't tell Karyn about that," interrupted Magnus, looking up from his plate.

"Have you met TJ and Halfborn yet?" TJ was a soldier, black, like me, wearing a blue wool army jacket and sitting with an antique rifle propped up next to him.

"Died during the Civil war?" I guessed, looking closely at his jacket.

"Yeah, the assault on Fort Wagner. You know your history." He studied my face. "Do you have any combat experience?" I glanced at Emma, who subtly shook her head.

"Not really," I responded. "I have a second degree black belt in Kung Fu, and I'm really good at strategy games." The other guy at the table, who I guessed must be Halfborn, snorted.

"Hand to hand combat is only part of it, and strategy is pretty much useless. We'll just stick you in the back and let you guard the base." I was irritated. So many times in my life, people had underestimated me, because I was a girl, because I was young, because I was a nobody, even Percy Jackson on my first day of camp. Well, I would just show Halfborn exactly what I did to people who underestimated me.

" _For your information_ ," I said, my voice icy and bitter. "Kung Fu does focus on weapons as well. I have been trained in staff, nunchaku, broadsword and straight sword, spear, fan, and butterfly swords, among others. And if you think I'm weak, you can try fighting me, right here, right now. Unless you're afraid of dying again." Halfborn scowled.

"No problem. You know I'm a bezerker, right? I won't stop unless you rip me apart." "I've fought worse." Maybe I would've ripped him to pieces, and maybe he would've done the same, but Magnus intruded.

"You can kill each other later, ok? Right now, it's time for capture the flag."

"You do capture the flag?" I asked.

"Sure, on Saturdays. Tuesday is free for all combat, Wednesday is siege warfare, and on Thursday they bring out the dragons." As we walked out, I considered the odd fact that the Greeks, Romans, and Norse all played some form of capture the flag. Someday I would have to tell Carter and Sadie about this. I felt a pang in my heart. _Carter and Sadie._ And Caleb, and Annabeth, and all my other friends at Camp Half-Blood, Camp Jupiter, and the 28th Nome. If I was dead, I would never see them again. The only thing left for me was Emma. At least she was worth it.

The combat arena was about as big as all of Camp Half-Blood. It was like a courtyard, surrounded on all sides by building. It was full of interesting landscapes, like hills and forest and a river. I scanned the location, checking out hiding places, strategic locations to watch from, and other useful areas.

"Okay, we're doing small groups this time," said Magnus. "Just floors 18 through 21 vs. floors 22 through 25. Karyn, got any strategy ideas?" I studied the other team, a few dots in the distance with a red flag the size of a house hanging from a pole. Behind me was our flag, an equally large banner made from green fabric.

"How about you, me, Emma, and Jessica sneak over there, as the rest of you hide and create a choke point?" I suggested. Halfborn shrugged.

"Sounds alright, I guess. Let's get in position."

As we ran through the trees, I whispered,

" _L'mun_ ", and we faded out of sight. At least _I_ can create a decent invisibility spell. We encountered a small team of other warriors, and I drew my sword and slashed through them. They fell in pieces. Concerned, I looked back.

"Are they going to be okay?" Magnus nodded.

"They'll be fine by tomorrow." We kept running, with Jessica trailing behind and Magnus and I darting ahead. We reached the flag in just a few minutes, most of us out of breath.

"That…" said Jessica, panting with her hands on her knees, "Was easier than I thought it would be." Emma, Magnus and I pulled the flag under the ground and hoisted it into the air. Our team must have seen us, because I distantly heard a cheer coming from the other side. Before we could run back, the air shimmered in front of us and a person appeared. I'm not willing to describe his clothes, as even that would give you vertigo, so all I'll say is that he looked like Cleopatra threw up her leftover Egyptian makeup on an ugly old Elvis. Nasty, and of course I recognized him immediately.

"Ugh," gagged Magnus. "Who is this freaky clown?"

"My eyes," Emma wailed. "They burn!"

"Setne, I assume," I said.

"That's right!" Setne said.

"Wait, you _know_ this guy?" Magnus asked.

"How did you get out of the snow globe?" I asked, ignoring Magnus's question. Setne smiled wickedly.

"Well, I have some important friends… like Loki here!" A guy with scars all over his face materialized.

"Oh, hi, Magnus!" he said with a wave, and held up a small silver bracelet with a hammer-shaped charm. "Looking for this?"

"That's Thor's hammer," I guessed. "Molder? Yo- nerd?"

"Mjolnir," Magnus said. "Wait, you took that?"

"Sort of!" Loki said. "Setne, didn't you want us to do something?"

"Yeah," said Setne. "Let's destroy this place and take some… Snappies? Selfies! Selfies with the burned remains, then we can go to a club, or something." Setne and Loki began to throw fireballs at everything in sight, killing lots of teen warriors and blasting craters in the hillside.

"Come on!" I said, running toward the exit.

"Now what?" asked Emma, dodging a chunk of turf. I concentrated and reached into the Duat, pulling out two backpacks and my favorite leather shoulder bag and mentally filling them with clothes, food weapons, and other travel supplies.

"Here you go," I said. "Now let's go on that quest."

"How?" Magnus asked. "I'm allowed to travel the nine worlds, but you… not so much."

"No problem. Let me just create a portal," I said. Then I frowned. "I have no idea where to go." Magnus nodded. "This reminds me of a problem that we had on my last quest. We were trying to leave Nidavellir, and we didn't know where to go, so my friend Hearth used a rune to get us where we really needed to go, by turning over our fate to the gods. What did he call it… a Hail Mary pass?" I had an idea. I'd heard that Sadie had been able to speak a Greek word like a hieroglyph. Maybe I could use a rune the same way.

"What's the rune called?" I asked.

"Pethro." I summoned a portal and stuck a hand into it.

"Pethro!" I said, and the portal turned black. We glanced at each other, then leapt into darkness.

 **A/N: So, what do you think? Worth the wait? Oh yeah… special _special_ thanks to LunaEtSidera. I left her a review on her story and asked her to read mine… and she did! Thanks so much! Please review, everyone else. Tell me what you think, and what's the plural of Hermes? Well, that's all for now. Nirois out.**


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: Yeah, sorry about that last chapter (if you read it before 6/18/16, go back and reread it, I accidentally posted the wrong version). At least I'm earlier this time. So, in other news, I recently got hooked on Sailor moon, and it's my birthday soon, as you can see in my personnel file. In related news, I finally put something on my bio. I hope you guys like this chapter, and review more (only 8 reviews, seriously?) Anyway, on with the story!**

 **I visit the cave of Trippy before it's cool**

We emerged in a small, boring looking town that was mostly snow covered. A small sign staked into the ground next to the road I was standing on read _Athens, Indiana_.

"Great," sighed Emma. "We turn over our fates to the gods, and where do they send us? Nowhere, Indiana. We're never going to finish the quest." I frowned.

"Actually, I think we might be on the right track. Athens, Indiana… Now, why does that sound familiar…"

"Didn't the Norns tell you something about an oracle in Athens?" Magnus said. Then I remembered.

"Yeah, but that's not the only thing. Neither of you were there, so I'll just have to fill you in pretty quick. **(A/N: Warning- spoilers for Hidden Oracle follow)** Apollo became mortal as a punishment, and showed up at camp last month. He found another oracle, the grove of Dodona, in the woods. It was almost destroyed by Emperor Nero, who apparently didn't die and is still alive, trying to take over the world, along with two other ancient emperors. They're called the Triumvirate, and they're our main enemy at the moment, besides Setne and Loki. I'm hoping they're working together, because then we can defeat them all at once, but the problem is we'll have to do it virtually by ourselves. But I digress. What's important is that Apollo got a prophecy from the grove, along with some fragments of information. I believe he mentioned Indiana. As far as I remember, there was also something about a _cave blue and hollow, death and madness, pages turning, serpents and roaches_ , and _bananas_."

"Death and madness?" repeated Emma. "I prefer my death without a side of madness. But what does that have to do with the oracle?"

"As far as I know, there were five oracles. The oracle of Delphi, the Sybil, the grove of Dodona, the oracle at Erythaea, and the Cave of Trophonius."

"You mentioned a cave," Magnus said. "Could it be the _cave blue and hollow_?" I shrugged.

"There's only one way to find out."

As it turned out, we didn't have to search long for the cave. It found us. I hadn't taken ten steps toward the town when I stepped on what looked like a blue glass plate set into the ground, partially covered in dirt. As I examined it, the plate broke in half and I fell feet first into a bluish abyss, along with Emma and Magnus. I landed hard in a sitting position on something that looked and felt like blue crystal. The cavern I was standing in was made of blue-tinted stone, ranging from peacock near my feet to sky near the roof. _The cave blue and hollow_ , I thought. I couldn't see the hole I'd fallen through, or my friends. That worried me, but luckily I spotted an exit: a hole in the wall tinted navy blue. I stepped through it, and instantly my vision went dark. I hovered in a dark space that was tinted faintly blue and saw a few images floating through the void: Emma shooting at something in a dark room or cave, two other people, their faces hidden in shadow, and Magnus and I, staring into each other's eyes, getting closer… closer… I tore my eyes away from the vision and shook my head.

"Isn't there supposed to be a, like, prophecy or something?" I asked. A guy in a flannel shirt, skinny jeans, and Ray-Ban glasses materialized right in front of my face.

"Well, duh! I just thought the regular poetry prophecies were too mainstream."

"Mainstream?" I said with a frown. He waved a hand and a table appeared with a book on it. "Thank the gods," I sighed, trying to slide past him. He blocked me.

"Not so fast. Did you live on sacrificial meat for a week? Are you wearing white robes? Did you bring honey cakes for the snakes? Forget that, how did you get past the snakes? Do I expect answers for any of this? No!" I shrugged.

"Who are you, anyway?" The guy smiled.

"At least I'm still obscure! The name's Trophonius! Daimon! Leader of the least well-known cult in Greek history! Protector of the fifth oracle, the Cave of Trophonius!"

"Yeah, whatever. Can I just get the prophecy already?" His smile disappeared.

"Fine. Go on, then. But I warn you- doom is in the future, for you and your friends!"

He disappeared with a puff of smoke. I coughed, then stepped forward.

"Idiot hipster," I muttered as I flipped open the thick leather cover. On the page was a quatrain, two rhyming couplets. I read the prophecy quickly, then summoned a portal and leapt through it.

Magnus and Emma were waiting for me outside.

"So, did you get the prophecy?" asked Emma. I nodded. "So what is it?"

" _You shall find help, fight monsters, and travel below_ ," I recited, " _And the daughter of Hades shall defeat the one that matters most. The hammer and sword shall save the day, though one of two may not walk away_."

"Okay. So what does that mean?" Magnus said. I shrugged.

"As far as I can tell, it means 3 things: One- we need help. Two- We need Thor's hammer. Three- A daughter of Hades is going to do _something_ important."

"It's me," said Emma. "I'm the only daughter of Hades, since Hazel is a daughter of Pluto and Nico is a son of Hades. So what am I going to do?" I shrugged.

"I'm not sure. But I'm pretty sure you're not the daughter of Hades." Emma frowned.

"But I'm the only-"

"Hear me out!" I interrupted. "Look, you've been pretty ghostly and weird lately, though the rest of us aren't. Why? Because only half of your soul is there, the part that's a granddaughter of Frey. The rest of you is in the Underworld, the Greek Underworld." Emma's eyes widened, and she nodded.

"Yeah… I can just barely sense the other half of me. We have to find it!"

"But how? The two main entrances at DOA recording studios and Central Park have been sealed since Gaea was defeated."

"There's another way. It's not in any myths, because every hero who's tried to get through it died. If we try to get through there, we're going to need some help." I nodded.

"I know just the people." I summoned another portal and we all jumped through.

We landed just outside Camp Half-Blood. The person I was hoping to find was waiting outside.

"Annabeth!" I called. She turned, startled.

"Oh, hi, Karyn," she said, then her brain caught up with her mouth. "You're… you're dead. And Emma's dead. But you're both here! And so is Magnus. How did you find out about Magnus?"

"Look, now isn't the time," I said. "Setne- Wait, you know about Setne, right- Setne and Loki have teamed up and probably want to destroy the world or something, or they're working for someone, which is even worse. They've taken Thor's hammer, they've probably teamed up with the Triumvirate, and we need to break into the Underworld to get the other half of Emma's soul through the most dangerous route possible. You got all that?" Annabeth looked like she wanted to say something, but she stopped mid-word and nodded.

"I've done the whole impossible-adventure thing about 57 times already, so why not? But you already have three."

"It's probably fine," I said. "But you're not the only one we need. Let's go." I summoned another portal and we stepped through it.

The next person we needed to find was my brother, Caleb. We appeared beside the warehouse that served as the location of the 21st nome. Caleb, of course, was waiting.

"Of course you're not dead," he said. "You're too annoying for that. So I'm assuming that we're going on some kind of adventure? Where are we going?"

"Oh, nowhere special. Just the most dangerous passage to the Underworld, where we'll have to fight like all the monsters."

"Sounds fun," said Caleb. "Let's do it!"

"So where are we going?" I asked Emma.

"Texas." I snorted.

"Of course. Let's go, I don't want to stay in Texas any longer than I have to."

 **A/N: Sorry about this being kind of a filler chapter after a long wait, but I'm leaving for summer camp tomorrow and I wanted to update before I left so it was kind of short and filler. Anyway, what did you guys think? Please review! Like I said, I'm going to camp and then on vacation, then band camp, and I have to work on preparing for my black belt test, so I'm going to be gone for a while. Don't expect another chapter for another two or three months at least. Bye now. Nirois out.**


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: So, so sorry about the long wait. I'll explain it with one word: school. That and the fact that I'm writing another story, too, and it's eating up most of my free time. Not a fanfic- an original story I'm planning to publish. Also there were a bunch of movies I had to see. Anyone see Fantastic Beasts? Rogue One? Doctor Strange? So I'm** **caught up now, so I can get back to writing this. So here we go!**

 **Chapter 5- Into the Tunnel of Death**

We stepped out of the portal into a dark cavern, made from what looked like obsidian and covered in greenish slime. Emma coughed.

"Excellent. Thanks, Karyn, for bringing us to the absolute worst location possible." Annabeth pulled a flashlight out of her bag and flicked it on, shining it down a narrow tunnel leading at a steep angle downward.

"Do we have to go down there right now? I mean, I was just doing the climbing wall at Camp Half-Blood! I still have holes in my shirt," she said, gesturing at several fist-sized burns near the hem of her orange tee.

"And I was… um…" said Caleb, not knowing whether Annabeth knew about the Egyptians. I, however, knew that she had met my cousins, Carter and Sadie, a few months ago.

"He was training, right?" I said. Caleb nodded hastily.

"And don't worry, she knows about all three worlds," I added. "We all do- right?"

"Three worlds?" Caleb asked. "I thought there were only two! Is the other one the Mayans? I knew it! There's quantifiable proof based on-"

"No, it's the Norse, nerd," I said, cutting him off.

"Hey, we're both nerds. And the Norse make sense, too… kind of. But what exactly does this have to do with the Greek underworld?" I sighed.

"Pretty sure I already explained this, but since most of us are ADHD, I might as well explain it again. Everyone knows about Setne, right? Annoying guy with the 50s gangster clothes? Well, he, along with Loki, is trying to take over the world again, and according to an oracle named- um, let's just go with Trippy- one part of their plan will most likely be a beast of some kind, which only a daughter of Hades can defeat."

"Probably a drakon," said Annabeth. "It's been done before- choosing a creature that can only be killed by someone who isn't able to. The perfect plan."

"So, anyway," I continued, "The only person who can kill it is Emma, but the daughter of Hades part of her is currently in the Greek underworld. So we have to go through the most dangerous, monster-filled passage, because the security on the others is too tight, and get her soul. Then defeat the probably-drakon and then Setne and Loki. Oh, and recover Thor's hammer. Any questions?"

The others looked at each other, then shrugged. I took a deep breath, then released it slowly.

"Great. Let's do this.

The first monster we encountered was the giant automaton, Talos. Luckily, I had studied many methods of fighting automata. My personal favorite was to tell it something illogical, but that one might be hazardous in an enclosed space. (Mentally messed-up robots tend to explode violently.) My second favorite was to slice the automaton into pieces. As I watched, Talos stared blankly at our group and wound up for a punch, which would probably smash all of us flat.

"Weapons out, everyone!" I said, and drew my katana and tanto. "Annabeth and Magnus, you two go for the arms. Emma and Caleb, get the legs. I'll take the head." They all nodded and leapt into action. Magnus threw his sword Jack, and it sliced off Talos's punching arm at the shoulder before boomeranging around and landing back in his hand. Annabeth attacked the other arm with her new dagger, unfortunately barely making a dent in the hardened bronze plating. Emma stared at the leg, then at her modified shotgun, then shrugged and fired a rapid burst, perforating the leg near the torso.

"Tear along this line," she said, satisfied. Caleb chose to use a divine word.

"Ha-di!" he shouted, pointing at the other leg. It exploded. Meanwhile, I crouched, ready to spring, but before I could move, my sword flew out of my hand.

"Hello, there," it - she - said. "Wow, what's going on? A fight? I haven't fought anyone in centuries-"

"Wait," I interrupted. "You can talk?" The sword dipped in the air as if she was nodding. "Of course I can talk. I'm magical, after all." Suddenly I remembered something about a magic Japanese sword.

"You're that sword, the one the legendary warrior guy used to control the wind and defeat his enemies!" I searched for its name, then decided that it wasn't important right now.

"The thing is, we're fighting a giant mechanical monster right now, so if you could do something about that, that would be great…" The sword flew through the air and cut cleanly through Talos's head. It fell to the ground, clanking. I winced.

"Yeah, that would normally work, but this is Talos. He…"

The scraps of metal were reforming, turning back into Talos, who reared back for a punch.

"He does that," I said, dodging to one side so his punch pulverized the tunnel behind me.

"Why didn't you say something about this before?!" Emma shouted, reloading her shotgun.

"I forgot. Nobody's perfect." I shook my head, trying to think. "Paradox! We need to tell it a paradox!"

The robot's fist came at me again, then it tried to step on me. I dodged both attacks, leaving gouges on its metal plating. As I rolled away, I saw sparks. That was good- it meant that I'd probably severed some of its wiring. Sure enough, its leg and arm froze in place.

"What I'm saying right now is a lie!" I shouted. Its head turned to face me. If it's possible for a hunk of scrap metal to look confused, it did. Then it slowly collapsed into sections, burying me in scrap.

For a moment, all was silent. Then I heard distant cheering coming from outside the pile.

"You did it, Karyn!" Emma said.

"That's great!" I shouted. "Now get me out of here!"

Together, we managed to pull aside most of the metal, and climb over it to continue down the tunnel. There were more monsters, of course. A manticore (bad news), a caucus (bad memories), and a hydra (bad breath). We worked as a team, and each time, we won. Soon we reached the underworld. I wasn't sure where the rest of Emma's soul was. As I wondered what to do next, Emma gasped.

"There."

It was a ghostly version of Emma, looking exactly the same as the one I knew. As I watched, the two Emmas merged, turning into one person. She smiled.

"That feels way better."

"Come on," I said. "We still have to save the world." The tunnel rumbled ominously and collapsed behind us.

"Oh, that's not good," I said. Faintly, I heard Setne- and Loki- laugh. "How're we going to stop whatever the two fools are planning now?" Emma smiled.

"No problem. Now that I have my whole soul back, I can shadow-travel. C'mere, grab my hands." The five of us formed a chain, and the underworld dissolved around us.

We appeared in Central Park, under a ring of trees.

"Now what?" Magnus asked. A cloud passed over the sun, and I glanced upward. And gasped.

"I' guessing that's what," I said, gesturing to the large drakon with wings currently hovering over New York City.

 **A/N: Yup, I'm leaving you with another cliffhanger, because I'm evil like that. Sorry about missing Magnus's birthday, it would've been so great to post then… Anyway, I'm writing this Star Trek fanfic that explains why I have the username Captain T'karra Nirois, and I'm gonna start posting that once I'm done with this. I probably only have like 3-5 more chapters planned, so I have to start wrapping it up. About that Star Trek fic- I also have a fic about Harry Potter planned, so vote in your reviews about which you want first! Whichever gets more votes, I'll post a sample on the last chapter of this, Ok? Aaand… Nirois out.**


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: Sorry about this late post. I was really busy with a bunch of stuff, like school and writing another book. Yeah, so anyway…**

 **Chapter 6- Lindworm? Drakon? Dang, these monster classifications are confusing...**

"It's massive," I said, gazing up at the creature. I'd never seen a drakon with wings before, and I guessed that it was bred by Setne and Loki. What sadistic losers. Emma stood beside me, snapping a new bullet cartridge onto her machine gun.

"Well, duh, but how are we going to kill it?"

"You mean, how are _you_ going to kill it. You're the one in the prophecy."

"I'll need your help."

"To do what? Think it to death? It's a mile in the sky."

Annabeth grinned, pulling off her backpack. "I think we can do something about that."

I sighed. "I was joking. I'll just portal up there."

Annabeth frowned. "Way to kill my moment."

"Yeah, whatever. Let's go." I muttered a few words in Ancient Egyptian and a portal opened in front of us, swirling with sand and purple light. I frowned. "Actually, who should go?"

"Me," everyone but me said. I rolled my eyes.

"Like I said, I think it should just be Karyn and I- we have the best powers," Emma explained. "Magnus, you don't really seem like the 'kill dangerous beasts' type. Annabeth, you don't have any powers. And Caleb… I don't know how to tell you this, but you're a spaz."

He really was. The first time he got a sword, he ran around in deranged circles until he accidentally smacked himself upside the head and passed out. It wasn't even a big sword.

Caleb frowned. "I'll admit to that."

"So, what's your plan?" Annabeth asked. I felt a rush of warmth as I realized that my big sister was trusting me to lead this mission, then it disappeared abruptly as I realized that I didn't have a plan.

It came to me as I figured out what the giant snake-thing hovering overhead reminded me of.

"Have you heard the tale of Jonah?" I said, grinning. Annabeth raised an eyebrow, obviously not getting the joke. But Magnus's face lit up.

"The Avengers movie? I saw that with my mom! You're talking about the part where Iron Man flies inside the Leviathan troop transporter and destroys it from the inside."

I grinned even wider. "See? He gets me. We'll portal into the thing's mouth, then cut it up from the inside."

Emma hefted her gun onto her shoulder. "This is even crazier than most of your plans."

"Something wrong with that?"

"No way! This is the most fun I've had in months. Let's do it!"

Together, we stepped into the portal. As I fell into the abyss of sand and purple magic, I heard Magnus say, "Be careful, Karyn. That thing's probably half lindworm, along with whatever you said it was. Lindworms are tricky."

We landed in a slimy pink cavern, full of yellowish goo and bits of metal plating. Probably the remains of all the demigods who'd fought this thing before.

"At least we can skip the venomous teeth this time," I commented, unsheathing my katana and tanto. I began to slash the sticky walls, releasing torrents of golden monster dust mixed with yellowish blood. Emma's gun peppered the walls with fist-sized holes. After a few minutes of the assault, the monster seemed to notice us and roared in agony, a powerful blast of sound that sent both of us skittering toward its mouth. I stabbed my swords into its side as a handhold, but Emma was tossed into the creature's mouth and hung from one of its teeth. _If she falls, or if the drakon-whatever realizes she's there, we're both screwed,_ I thought, yanking my swords free. I ran to the creature's jaw and braced my sneaker against its fang as I hauled Emma back into the mouth.

"That was fun," Emma said sarcastically, flicking slime off her fingers.

"Now what?" I asked. "This thing seems to barely even notice our attacks."

"It's time to break out the heavy artillery." She pulled out a small gold sphere the size of an apple. A grenade, I realized. Made with Imperial gold and greek fire. The Romans had had them during the battle last summer, and Emma must have taken one before she died. It didn't have a pin, just a button on the side, and Emma pushed the button and hurled the grenade further down the monster's throat.

"This is the part where we run like hell," Emma told me, and we both ran to the monster's mouth and jumped as green flames erupted behind us. We fell through the air, screaming and covered in monster dust and goo, both of which quickly blew away in the intense wind. Could I summon a portal in midair? Why not? It was hard to focus with my eyelids and lips being blown back, but I managed to think "down" long enough for a large purple gateway to appear in midair and Emma and I to fall through it. We landed on the grass with a smack like a belly flop off a high diving board. I groaned as Annabeth, Magnus, and Caleb walked up to us.

"Can I take the rest of the day off?" I mumbled, shielding my face from the bright sunlight.

"Take me with you," Emma added.

"Sorry, guys, but we still need to take out Setne and Loki," Annabeth said. As if on cue, I saw two figures approaching from the sky.

"Oh, crap," I said, slowly climbing to my feet. "The Dastardly Duo are probably going to be mad we broke their toy." Setne and Loki landed in front of us, wearing identical villanous grins.

"So you killed the- What was that thing called, anyway?" Setne asked Loki as the fireball remains overhead imploded.

"Drakon-lindworm," Loki stage-whispered.

"Yeah, what he said… but you're still no match for a god and a…"

"Ghost?" Loki added.

I stifled a laugh. "Come on! You two are supposed to be evil? You're like Saturday Night Fever meets Team Rocket!"

"Well, whatever you call us, we're still much more powerful than you. It's time to fight."

 **A/N: Yeah, sorry about the shortish chapter. Hopefully I'll post again around July, maybe. Honestly I just want this to be over so I can work on a few other projects I have planned. Nirois out.**


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